Coping with Rejection

About one year ago, I got the dreaded email stating that I was not moving on in the interview process and that although I was qualified, I was not what the company was looking for.

I laid in bed and cried for about two hours.  This was my dream internship and I felt like I had been kicked in the stomach.  I had never not succeeded at something like this.  I was high achieving in high school, aced my interviews for scholarships and programs for college, got my first internship right after my freshman year of college, which snowballed into many other opportunities within the company.

I had never felt so defeated before, but I jumped right back into the internship pool and had an interview with a different company two days later. I didn't get that internship either, but I wasn't sad about that one.  At that interview, I realized that the only place I wanted to intern at and work for was the first company that had rejected me.  Plus, the second company honestly gave me the heebie jeebies. The environment and set-up was not my style.

So - I talked to the campus rep, reapplied at the beginning of the next semester, interviewed, and got the internship.

There are many different ways to cope with rejection.  You cry.  You get mad.  You get hateful.  You doubt yourself.  I did it all.  But I rose from it.  There is no greater power than the power of emotion. I channeled everything into the rest of the semester to make myself more valuable, more talented, and more prepared for the interview and the internship. In that time, I was able to find my passions and realize how those passions connected to my internship.  But I'll admit - it was hard going back to those interviews and seeing the people who had rejected me.  But if anything, getting that call is greater validation that everything that I worked hard for gave me this opportunity.  So when you feel like you are at the your lowest, work yourself to your highest.  It'll give you the confidence you need and make you feel better about everything you have accomplished.